Recently-announced financial drama, The Big Short, is the second Michael Lewis adaptation Brad Pitt and his Plan B productions are bringing to the big screen. Based around the 2008 economic downfall, the movie will follow the book’s key figures who were all partly responsible for the escalating housing and credit problems that caused a global financial crisis. Already queued up to take leading roles are Ryan Gosling and Christian Bale, who look like they might be joined by funnyman Steve Carell.
Hot off the back of Foxcatcher, Carell’s foray into dramatic fare is slated to continue with this latest casting tidbit. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he’s being eyed to play “Steve Eisman, a money manager who shorted subprime mortgages for FrontPoint Partners.” Fleshing out the character specs for the already-announced cast, THR added that Gosling is “to play Deutsche Bank trader Greg Lippmann,” with Bale in talks to play “Michael Burry, the founder of the Scion Capital and one of the people first to see the coming crisis.” Whereas it was assumed Pitt would snare a bigger part, it looks like he’s in line for a supporting role as “Ben Hockett, a partner at Cornwall Capital.”
Should Carell iron out the kinks in the contract and lock in for the part, he will reunite with Anchorman‘s Adam McKay, who is already inked to write the screenplay. In terms of concept, the film is thought to tangle together various story threads – like Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic – by charting the journeys of various players involved in the crisis. There’s still no word on who will be behind the camera for The Big Short, but we’ll keep you updated as soon as the news rolls in.
Until then, you can check out the synopsis of Lewis’ non-fiction book below.
The real story of the crash began in bizarre feeder markets where the sun doesn’t shine and the SEC doesn’t dare, or bother, to tread: the bond and real estate derivative markets where geeks invent impenetrable securities to profit from the misery of lower–and middle–class Americans who can’t pay their debts. The smart people who understood what was or might be happening were paralyzed by hope and fear; in any case, they weren’t talking.